


Slaves From The Underground

by AlpineK8



Category: Slavetale - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:48:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22618141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlpineK8/pseuds/AlpineK8
Summary: There had been countless resets, where the small child had slaughtered monster kind. But after the child completes a pacifist run, sparing all of monster kind and securing their freedom, Sans finds himself wishing for a reset that may never come.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

He wasn't supposed to be sold, he and his brother both, they are the last of their kind after all. The last remaining skeletons in existence, after the war, their kind had been driven to the brink of extinction. They were supposed to be protected; if experimentation and imprisonment in a government compound could be considered protection. He hated the compound, the bright white lights illuminating the halls, and the colorless cell he was kept in day and night, with the only furnishing being a small bed attached to the wall. He hated it even more, how the door would creak open, revealing a pair of all too familiar guards wearing plain white uniforms and sneakers, so that the color of their eyes and hair stood out. He hated that compound, and the way he was treated day in and day out, like some lesser being, like a thing, like property. 

That was all they saw; they didn't see him as a living thinking person; they saw him as a thing that they owned. He dreaded the moment when the guards would enter his cell, grabbing ahold of his upper arms, and drag him, when he would have been willing to walk. He was haunted by the constant experimentation, and how he was forcefully restrained onto a cold operation table, with a bright light shining over him. And how those same scientists would strut into the room, looking over his body, like it was a specimen to be dissected, pulling on their rubber gloves, and poking and prodding him with malice in their eyes. And if he talked, complained about the unfairness of his treatment, or even cried out when a long needle was shoved into his chest, they would muzzle him. Like some kind of animal, forcing the metal contraption over his head, and tightly fastening it, so that he couldn't make more than a grunt. 

The scientists experimented day in and day out, testing his limits pushing him, torturing him all to see how long he could last. How much of an asset he was to their cause. Sans wasn't stupid; he knew that their end goal was weaponization, and every time he collapsed under the high voltage shocks sent through his body, every time he passed out from being trapped in an airtight room. Those scientists would jot down the failure, sighing in disappointment. They didn't care how it felt without air, how his metaphorical lungs would burn, as he hyperventilated trying to breathe when there was nothing. The only thing they cared about was their cruel experiments, without a single regard to who it hurt.  
And now sans laid on the cold floor of his cell, trying to ease the intense pain in his skull. The experiments for the day were foggy at best, he vaguely remembered the sound of a drill, as it was buried into his skull before he passed out. He groaned as the sound of his cell door being opened, piercing the silence. 

"wasn't that enough for one day?" he grumbled, keeping his eyes closed, trying to enjoy those few moments of peace before he was tortured. 

But it wasn't enough, it never was, because once again he felt two sets of familiar hands close around him, dragging him to a standing position. He groggily opened his eyes, focusing on the two men with difficulty, he recognized them quickly; as Lucas and Mike, they both looked like marshmallows in all white, he chuckled hysterically. He was still out of sorts; he blinked a few times, clearing his vision. "heya guys, come on, can't you see i'm bone tired." He said with a lazy grin creasing his face. Oh god, how many times had he told them that very joke, in his semiconscious drugged state, at the moment he didn't care.

The two men ignored him and began to walk out of the cell, dragging him along, so that his bare heels slid across the floor. He sighed, trying to clear the fogginess in his head, then worked for another "heh, I guess you drag the worst outta me." He said, the fogginess dissipating, as he became more oriented on the present. "i hope i'm not gettin pun-ished." He said with a small chuckle. 

The man to his left, Lucas shot him a look of exasperation, "Thank god we are getting rid of this thing." He said, looking over at his partner.

"Yeah," The other agreed, nodding his head, "I mean it's about time they realized he's no use to anyone. I mean, it must be the weakest monster I've ever seen!" He exclaimed.

"erm, you guys realize i'm right here." The skeleton interjected awkwardly. 

The two guards didn't even seem to hear him continuing their conversation without missing a beat. "I mean sure, the other one has a mental capacity of an eight-year-old, but at least he's strong enough to be useful." Lucas continued. 

Any confusion or fogginess vanished as the skeleton turned to glare at the guards "heya watch what ya say about my bro." He growled.

This the guards did notice, because Mike gave the skeleton a hard blow to the head, sending Sans vision spinning "Just shut up!" He hissed in annoyance.

"I don't know why we don't just muzzle the thing permanently." The other guard said in exasperation.

"then, you'd miss out on all my colorful commentary." The skeleton chimed in dryly. Another blow to the head, the skeleton grunted, as the intensity of his headache increased. He slumped in their hold; there was a moment of silence before he tried for another question. "so what exactly does gettin rid of me mean?" he asked, bracing himself for another smack.

It didn't come; instead, the two guards walked in silence for a moment, the only sound being the soft steps of their sneakers. Just as sans had given up on receiving an answer, Mike seemed to shrug and spoke: "You got sold." He said evenly.

"sold?" Sans questioned, "i thought that was against some rule or something…" he replied.

Lucas, "Rules don't matter when there's enough money involved." He replied refocusing on the hallway ahead of him.

"why would someone spend that kinda money on me? you said it yourself. I'm pretty useless." Sans questioned.

"You may be useless to our boss, but as a skeleton, you're a…" Lucas pauses to come up with the word "a collectible." He finishes with a small smirk.

"huh," Sans replied slowly, "so i'm going to be some trophy?" He asked cautiously, beginning to feel more and more uneasy about the situation.

"Probably…" Mike replied, "but, then again there are other reasons people buy monsters." He added after a moment.

"what do you think they want with me then?" Sans asked.

"We don't ask." The guards replied in unison, signaling there would be no more questions.

There was only a moment of silence before the guards came to a halt, Lucas stepped forward, releasing his grip on the skeleton. He then focused his attention on a keypad, attached to the wall right beside the metal sliding door that blocked their path. 

Mike also let go of Sans, approaching his comrade, causing Sans to crumple to his knees. "Don't you remember the password?" Mike asked in exasperation.  
"Of course, I do!" The other replied indignantly, "I'm ju-just-." He began focusing hard on the keypad.

"You don't remember…" Mike replied flatly, "Uhg, you are useless!" He said in exasperation, pushing his partner to the side to enter the code.

While the two were distracted, sans climbed to his feet, he slowly began to back away, his eyes glued to his bickering captors, and then once he was a considerable distance, he sprinted down the hall. As he ran, he could hear the disgruntled cries of the guards as they pounded after him. Sans' paid them no mind, as he tore down another hall, his bony heels screeching against the tiled floors, as dove into an adjacent hallway. He hadn't gotten ten feet down said hallway, before three guards stepped out in front of him, blocking his path. Sans skidded to a stop, slightly losing his balance so that he had to plant his hand on the ground to keep from falling. With impressive speed, he pivoted his body so that he was angled back the way he had come; then, he took off sprinting again, propelling himself forward. But it was too late, the two guards from before had managed to catch up, and now sans found himself surrounded with nowhere to run.

"SANS!" A loud voice echoed from the hallway, the skeleton recognized it immediately, glancing down the hall, to see a taller skeleton staring at him from behind a set of bars.  
"Paps!" Sans choked, his eyes locking on his brothers battered form, It had been so long since he had seen the younger skeleton. Papyrus' usual cheerful expression, had become strained and tired, his eyes were dark, the typical warm orange glow within them had vanished from his sockets.

"WATCH OUT SANS!" Papyrus yelled, reaching out towards his brother, with no avail, the iron bars keeping him from the one person he loved most in the world. Sans was snapped out of his musing, as a fist came pelting towards him. He sidestepped the blow, thrusting his leg out in front of the charging guard. The guard lost his balance, tumbling to the ground in a slur of curses.

Sans didn't have time to contemplate this small victory, as another came at him from behind, attempting to catch him in a bear hug. Sans ducked, and dived forward rolling out of the bulky guards reach. To land at another's feet, Sans was only just able to avoid a kick aimed at his head. But before he could regain his footing, a blow found its way to his side, sending him skidding across the floor. Sans slammed into the wall groaning, as pain shot through his ribs, he scrambled to his feet, staring down his assailants with hate, most of his weight supported by the wall behind him.

"Enough of this nonsense!" A cold voice spoke, causing the five guards to come to attention without a moment's hesitation. A tall, black-haired man stepped into view, his dark eyes glinting, and coming to rest on Sans wheezing stumbling form. Sans recognized him as the man in charge of the compound, Lester Hellwends. The man's lips turned upwards into a malicious smile. "Surrender now monster, and no further harm will come to you." He said his voice was emotionless.

"no further harm?!" Sans growled. "everything you've done to me has harmed me! i'm not some, thing that you can do whatever the hell you want with!" Sans spat.

"On the contrary, that is exactly what you are," Hellwends replied, pulling out a small remote control from his pocket.

"whats that suppos-" San began, but he was cut off as the button was pressed, and electric shock pulsed through his aching form. Sans crumpled to his knees, as the intensity increased, his vision slowly blackening, and his body writhing on the floor.

"You see monster, a form of punishment for disrespectful monsters like yourself," Hellwend explained, as he walked up to Sans. "With your new collar feature, I can use this remote to keep you in line." He said, nudging the skeleton with his foot, Hellwend smiled, enjoying every moment of the skeletons suffering.

"STOP! PLEASE! JUST STOP!" A voice broke through, and the shocks lessening to a bearable intensity.

"paps," Sans gasped, "jus… just stay outta this," Sans instructed his voice hoarse, his body still shook, as the shocks surged through him.

"D-DONT HARM HIM! PLEASE!" Papyrus said, appealing to Hellwends, his voice cracking in fear.

"Ah, yes, I had almost forgotten about you," Hellwend said, stepping over Sans quaking body, towards Papyrus. "You have been causing a lot of trouble for our scientists, almost as much as your brother here." He stopped standing in front of Papyrus' cell. "Would you promise to behave, if I were to stop hurting your brother?" Hellwend asked.

"paps, don't!" Sans began, lunging towards Hellwend, who turned up the intensity of the shocks without a glance.

Sans fell to the floor, writhing in pain, the pain tearing a scream from his throat. "So, what will it be monster?" Hellwend asked cruelly. "Your cooperation? Or will your brother have to suffer even more due to your disobedience?" 

"ALRIGHT. I-I WILL BEHAVE." Papyrus said bitterly, looking away from Hellwend to watch his brother.

"Ah. Yes. Just as I had expected." Hellwend said quietly; he clicked a button on the remote before returning it to his pocket.

Hellwend then turned his attention to Sans, who was sprawled on the floor panting. Sans glared at him, his gaze radiating hate and defiance. "Never forget, you have no control, you never have, and you never will." He said laying a hand on the skeletons smooth skull. "Get this beast shackled, as it should be. And fix it up, I will not be selling damaged goods." He said his hand leaving Sans, as he strode down the hall.

"Your wrong, you know," Sans said, shakily clambering to his feet. Hellwend paused for a moment, but did not turn. "it won't always be like this; we won't always be your slaves." Sans said, his voice strong and resolute. Hellwend resumed his pace rounding a corner without responding, the sound of his footsteps fading into the distance.

Papyrus gasped, he had never seen his brother with such strength, he seemed to resonate bravery, but at that moment, two guards grabbed ahold of Sans, pushing him to the floor. Sans struggled weakly, as he was pinned to the floor, out of the corner of his eye, making out a vial full of bright green fluid. A familiar doctor, he recognized as a man named Alec, moved into view, beginning to draw the liquid into a long needle. "Roll him onto his back." The doctor instructed, bending down, and pocketing the vial. The guards did as they were told rolling the struggling skeleton onto his back, and pinning his arms and legs. Alec lifted the grey shirt from sans chest exposing his bare ribs, which heaved up and down with each strangled breath. "Damn, you sure roughed him up." He said, almost sadly, poking at several cracks in the skeletons rib cage. Alec then shifted his attention to Sans' face, noting his pained expression with a frown. "Alright Sans, are you going to let me see it?" Alec asked slowly, already sure of the answer, he had been working on Sans since he had arrived, his job was primarily dealing with the aftermath of the other scientists cruelty, he was a doctor after all. It was his job to heal.

"you already know the answer to that one, doc," Sans replied indignantly, out of all the scientists in the compound, he hated Alec the least. Alec had saved him countless times but had never tried to stop what others did him; instead, he stood by and watched the pain they would inflict, then patch up the mess they left.

Alec sighed, "You know it would hurt a lot less if you'd release your soul it-" He began.  
"i don't care," Sans replied, staring evenly at the scientist before him. Alec nodded solemnly, thrusting his hand beneath Sans's ribcage to grab ahold of the inverted heart beneath.

Sans's body went limp, "SANS!" Papyrus cried, trying to reach out to his brother, who was still out of reach. Alec shot him a sad smile before injecting the needle into the center of the skeleton's soul, immediately releasing it.

"Let go of him!" Alec said quickly, as Sans began to convulse his soul turning a glowing green. The cracks in his ribs began to fuse back together, as the magic coursed through his body. The green slowly began to fade, and Sans' soul fades to its normal light blue color, the small heart then sank back into the skeleton's ribcage. 

Sans sat up quickly, gasping for air, his eye sockets wide and dark. "I'm sorry, Sans. I truly am. For everything." Alec said quietly before disappearing down the hall.

"SANS! SANS ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Papyrus asked his voice filled with concern.

"i'm fi-" Sans began, but he was suddenly pulled off the ground, and forced into a standing position. Two guards quickly pulled his hands behind his back, while another secured a set of shackles to his bony wrists. Two more metal shackles were secured to Sans' ankles, a short metal chain attaching them to limit his mobility.

"STOP! LEAVE HIM ALONE! PLEASE JUST LET HIM GO!" Papyrus tried, but their captors ignored him as they began to fasten a metal collar around Sans' neck. Sans growled, attempting to bite the hand securing it, without success.

"Stop struggling; it won't do you any good." The guard instructed, removing his hand rather quickly. He slowly pulled out a metal cable, clipping it to the collar around Sans neck.

"didja just put a leash on me?" Sans asked dangerously, his eyes sockets glaring menacingly.

The guard only smiled, giving the leash a hard tug, so that Sans was forced to stumble forward, almost losing his balance. "Enough of this! We have a buyer to meet with." He replied, pulling the shackled skeleton forward, with another harsh tug.

"SANS!" Papyrus' voice quacked orange tears sliding down his cheekbones.

Sans turned to face him "brother," He breathed his eyes, locking on his brother's broken, hopeless form. "papyrus. listen to me. never ever give up! there's always hope; we will be together again. i promise you bro, i will find you. no matter what." Sans said before he was forced down the hallway.

Papyrus watched his brother's shuffling form disappear in the distance, his eyes reigniting with their warm orange glow. "I KNOW YOU WILL, BROTHER," Papyrus said quietly, feeling his hope return to him, for the first time in a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

Sans stumbled forward uncertainty, as the tension around his neck increased with each pull of his captor. Another yank, but Sans couldn't keep up with the shackles around his ankles and wrists restricting his every movement, he fell to the floor, his chest thudding against the cold tile. Sans rolled to his back, hissing at the pain in his newly healed ribs.

"Get up!" A voice scolded, it belonged to the boy at the end of Sans’ leash. The boy looked to be in his early 20s, with platinum blonde hair slicked back with an enormous amount of hair gel that made it glisten. 

Sans attempted to stand, but before he could, the pressure around his neck increased, as the boy continued forward, dragging along the restrained monster. Sans choked, struggling to find footing to no avail. 

"We have a schedule to keep! You've caused enough trouble for one day monster." The boy continued mercilessly, his voice dripping with disdain. He hated monsters, they were the cause of all the world's misery, and he would do anything to return that misery.

Sans gasped for air, feeling the world around him fade into all too familiar blackness. Sans almost welcomed it; it was an escape from the brutal reality he was forced to live in. But just as his eye sockets closed, the tension on the leash was suddenly lessened. Sans sockets shot open, air returning to his body, he slowly found his way to his knees, his chest heaving, as his body compensated for the lack of oxygen. The burning in his chest was slowly fading away, with each labored breath. 

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The boy growled dangerously, his eyes glaring at Mike.

Mike shuddered slightly under the withering stare, his hand slowly letting go of the leash. "I- I apologize, sir. I didn't mean any disrespect, sir." He said quietly, his voice shaking with fear.

"Oh. No, disrespect, you say?" The boy cooed, his dark eyes glinting dangerously, "You think you have the right to decide how this thing is treated?" He asked, taking a step towards the shivering guard.

"N-No, sir. I w- was ju-" Mike trailed off, lowering his head, to stare at a white tile below his feet. 

"Do you have any idea who I am?" He roared, not waiting for a response, "I'm Elijah Hellwend. Do you know how easy it would be for you to just… Disappear?" He asked, Taking hold of Mike's shirt collar, and twisting the fabric so that he gagged under the pressure. "No one would miss a sniveling nobody like yourself, and if you think what I do to this filthy monster is bad." He said pressing his face closer to Mikes. "Then you have no idea what I'm capable of." He said coldly, Elijah released his collar, shoving him roughly into the wall. His attention refocusing on the other guards, who were watching the scene unfold in a state of shock. "What the hell are you all gawking at?" He spat, continuing his breakneck pace down the hall, Sans scrambled to his feet to follow, with the guards at a safe distance behind them. 

Lucas paused for a moment shooting his disheveled partner a glance. "Mike? What was that? Why did you stick your neck out for that thing?" Lucas asked with concern.

Mike sighed, straightening his shirt collar. "I jus- I just, it seemed so afraid, so vulnerable." he mused quietly.

"But it's just a monster; they don't feel like us, they are heartless bloodthirsty beasts." Lucas reasoned.

"I know... It doesn't matter, let's go catch up with the others before I get in even more trouble." Mike grumbled, following after the others, Lucas, at his side.

Elijah came to an abrupt stop, typing his code into a keypad in front of him, with a lot more force than necessary, it emitted a small beep, the light turning green, as it accepted the code. The door in front of him slid open, revealing a large spacious room that seemed similar to an indoor parking garage, not that Sans had ever seen one. Before he could contemplate the new part of the compound, he was pulled forward, with the rest of the guards filing in behind him. Sans eyes locked on Mike for a moment, Sans couldn't understand it, why had he helped? Why hadn't he stood by and watched the life drain from Sans's body, as he always did? Mike had never had a problem with how Sans was treated, so why did he now?

Sans forced his eyes away from the guard to see a portly man walking towards him. The man wore a dark grey suit, that stretched over his protruding stomach, its shiny buttons threatening to break free under the pressure. Each of his stubby fingers were adorned with bright jewel-encrusted rings. "I don't appreciate having to wait." He said in annoyance. His double chin wobbled violently with every word he spoke.

"I assure you, it was worth your wait Mr. Elmusen." Lester Hellwend's voice cut through as he stepped forward to greet the client. Lesters tall, lanky form towering over the rich man in front of him, his slender fingers stretching forward for a handshake.

Elmusen glanced at the hand with disdain, ignoring the handshake all together, his vision refocused on the monster before him, "This is it?" He asked skeptically, eyeing the monster with disappointment when he had agreed to buy a skeleton, he had expected a much more fearsome beast. "It's rather small…" He continued, voicing his doubts.

Hellwend seemed unphased by his buyer's actions, his hand dropping to rest at his side. "As I'm sure you are aware, skeletons are extremely rare; it will be well worth its cost." Hellwend assured coldly.

Elmusen glanced at Hellwend, noting his cold, piercing eyes, with a small shiver. "Yes, of course, I know that… This thing is just quite the letdown." He grumbled. "But I'll take it; I could use something new for the hunts." He assured quickly, beads of sweat beginning to form on his brow. 

"Very good, As always, it's a pleasure doing business with you." Hellwend said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Theodore, we are leaving, get this thing loaded in the back." Elmusen said, reaching into his pocket, fishing out a handkerchief, to blot his damp forehead. He looked away from Hellwend, retreating to his limo.

Theodore stepped forward at his master's command, taking hold of Sans leash with a sick smile. "Let's go monster." he croaked. Sans was forced forwards towards the back of the limo. Theodore popped open the trunk, to reveal a small metal cage fastened into the back. Before Sans could react, Theodore grabbed ahold of his collar, throwing him into the cage, and slamming the door shut. 

Sans glared at Theodore, the cage he was stuck in, was only just big enough to fit him. So much so, that the skeleton was forced to have his knees pressed uncomfortably against his chest to fit. It was a good thing he hadn't been any bigger Sans mused; he wouldn't have fit, then what would they have done? Dragged him behind? Strapped him to the roof like a piece of luggage?

"Have a nice ride." Theodore snickered, before slamming the trunk closed, leaving the skeleton in complete darkness.

The limo slowly pulled out of the garage, disappearing down the long road out of the compound. "Come along, son. There's still much work to be done." Lester said, placing an arm around Elijah's shoulder.

"I know father… We have to do this. For her sake." Elijah said quietly, with a faraway look.

"Yes, for her sake." Lester echoed, leading his son back into the compound.

Sans grunted in discomfort as the vehicle lurched forward, slamming his face against his kneecaps. Sans shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position without success, he could already feel soreness settling in his shoulders, from his hands being bound. Sans sighed, resting his head against his knees in resignation, his body slowly relaxing as he drifted off to sleep. 

Sans had no idea how far they had driven, he had quickly fallen asleep, once the journey had begun. Strangely, it was the lack of noise and movement that had awoken him. The constant hum of the engine, coupled with the smooth rocking of the car, had lulled him to sleep. Sans sat up a little, listening intently to a set of voices outside, but they were far too muffled for him to understand. Outside, a car door slammed, and Sans could just make out the crunch of footsteps  
as someone approached the trunk. Then with an audible squeak, the trunk door was pulled open, revealing Theodore, the servant from before.

"Welcome to our new home monster." Theodore said with a wicked smile.

"home sweet home." Sans replied coolly, glaring at his tormentor.

Theodore was not amused, his hand shot forward with blinding speed, to wrap around Sans metal collar. His grip tightened as he yanked Sans forward, slamming him into the cage bars. Sans gasped in surprise, his hands wrapping around the bars, to try and keep himself from being completely crushed.

"Let's get one thing clear, you piece of dirt." Theodore said quietly, pressing his face closer to the gasping monster. "If you want to live another day of your worthless life, you'll drop the attitude, and start behaving. No one would care if I ended your worthless existence." He threatened.

Sans struggled for air, with the pressure on his chest, he was hardly able to breath more than ragged gasps. Despite this, Sans managed to chuckle, "i'm s- sure your bo-ss would love ta hear ho-w ya killed the mon-ster he just s-spent a fortune on." Sans wheezed with a lazy smile.

Theodore released his hold, with a disgruntled look, "Shut up." He grumbled, unlocking the cage door. Sans stayed quiet, taking the opportunity to regain his breath. Theodore wasted no time grabbing Sans leash and dragging him roughly out of the trunk so that the skeleton crumpled to the ground in a heap of bone. "Get up." He growled, sending a kick to Sans ribcage.

Sans recoiled from the blow, gasping as the pain shot through his body. "you sure get a kick outta this. don'tcha?" Sans said through gritted teeth. Theodore rolled his eyes, beginning to walk towards the building. Sans scrambled to his feet, only barely keeping his balance, as he followed behind.

Once they reach the door of the building, Theodore pauses, scooping out a large ring of keys. He stares at them for a moment, before choosing a small bronze key, which he uses on the door, it swings open, with an ominous creak. 

The door opens to a darkly lit room, with the walls entirely made of solid stone, and several hooks screwed into the wall, one of which having a chain and leash connected. Sans was suddenly shoved forward, as Theodore pushed him from behind. Theodore stepped into the room, moving towards one of the hooks, and unlocking the latch, so that he could attach the end of Sans leash to it.

"i gotta say, as far as guest houses go… i've seen better." Sans observed, glancing around his "new home" unimpressed by what it had to offer.

Theodore snorted, "It's the best your kind is ever gonna get." He sneered, locking Sans leash in place so that he only had a few feet of available movement.

Once satisfied that Sans was adequately restrained, Theodore left, slamming the heavy door behind him. The jingling of keys, and the click of the latch telling Sans that the door was locked once more.

Sans tugged at the leash experimentally, as expected, it didn't budge. The skeleton sighed, deciding to sit on the cold floor, with his back and arms pressed against the wall behind him.

He had been sitting for less than an hour, dozing off at different intervals, before he heard the sound of shouts from outside. Sans slowly climbed to his feet, listening intently, there was a sudden screeching sound, as the prison door was torn open, the moon casting an uncertain light into Sans' prison.

"St- Stop Fighting!" A guard growled, his breathing heavy from exertion. He and three other guards entered the room, two struggling to restrain a monster. Of the remaining two guards, one walked in front, holding the door open, while the second walked behind. The beast thrashed violently, throwing one of the guards into the adjacent wall. The guard from behind rushed forward, taking hold of the monster together, they smashed the monster into the back wall, pinning it in place. The monster continued to fight them, kicking and thrashing about, with its jaw snapping viciously. The two guards were only just able to hold it, while the third locked the monsters collar around its neck, the leash already attached to the wall.

"It's done! Get back!" The third squealed sprinting away from the monster, to check on his fallen companion, who had just regained his feet, with a dazed look.

The two guards holding the monster glanced at each other nervously before, leaping backward to get out of the monsters range. The beast spun around diving towards them, the leash around its neck pulling tight, the guards just out of reach. The monster growled fiercely, radiating hatred for its captors. 

Sans's eyes were suddenly drawn to the monsters control collar, which was blinking with a red light, and sending a constant electric shock into the monster's body. It didn't even seem to notice, struggling against the leash, keeping it restrained.

The guards laughed hoarsely as they each caught their breath. "Not so tough anymore, are ya?" One sneered mockingly, he pulled a remote from his pocket, stopping the collar shocks.

The monster stopped struggling, satisfied to just growl and glare at the guards disappearing form. The door closed with a loud creak, leaving the two monsters, with the only light filtering in through a window high above them.

Sans glanced at the blue fish monster "well, that was one kinda show i cell-dom see… undyne." He said quietly.

Undyne glanced at the skeleton with mild irritation, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Well, its good to see you haven't changed, still telling those crappy puns." She scoffed, backing up to sit against the wall. 

"meh, i guess i was just fishin for a laugh." He replied, moving over to sit next to Undyne.

She shot him a sideways glance, "whatever punk." She said, bending one knee so that she could prop her arm against it. 

"so what kinda place is this?" Sans questioned, resettling his back against the wall.

Undyne turned to him sadly, "It's not good, Sans." She said slowly, "They use us for sport. They hunt us." She said with a faraway look.

"Hunt us?" Sans asked, considering the statement, "Like they hunt animals?" He asked.

Undyne nodded, "I've lost a lot of good men here, they come, and they die. Most don't make it more than a few rounds." She said in disappointment, playing with a pebble at her feet.

"how long have you been here?" Sans asked, watching her closely.

"Pretty much from the start, I was brought to an auction and from there sold here." She said quietly tossing a pebble at the door, it bounced off, rolling to a stop. "H-Have you seen Papyrus?" She asked her voice, flooding with concern.

"yeah, i have, just before i got here." he glanced at Undyne, recognizing the worry painted on her face. "he was alright. we were not in a great place…. but he should be somewhat safe." Sans said, reassuring himself as much as Undyne.

She let out a sigh of relief, her features softening. "Good. I'm glad to hear he's safe… I- I was worried." She admitted, playing with a loose strand on her tank top. "Listen, you should rest up, Sans…" She said with a hint of worry.

Sans chuckled, leaning back into the wall, and allowing his eyes to close. "heh, you don't haveta tell me twice." He said with a lazy grin, he cracked one eye socket open, to glance at Undyne, quickly noticing her fist clenching in anger. "don'tcha worry about me, i'm not totally boned." He joked. Undyne shot him a glare. "i'll be fine." Sans assured. She didn't answer, and Sans soon drifted off to sleep.

He awoke the next morning, to the cell door creaking open, sunlight burst into the room, temporarily blinding both monsters.

"Looks like it's your turn skeleton." A voice said Sans squinted, trying to make out the guards silhouette.

Undyne growled aggressively, straining against her leash. Sans's eyes finally adjusted so that he could make out two of the guards from the night before. They both were focused on Undyne, looking at her fearfully. 

"St-stand down Mon- Monster." One piped up, slowly taking a step towards Sans. Undyne lunged towards him, just to be stopped by the leash, the guard reeled backward, falling to the floor with a yelp. He scrambled to his feet, backing behind his companion.

The second stepped forward with a little more confidence. "Listen, beast, you may be able to withstand the collar shocks, but your little friend here isn't so lucky." He said, showing her Sans' remote. "So it's up to you, let us take him, or watch him suffer." He said, matter factly.

"undyne… it's ok. we don't have a choice." Sans said quietly, coming to his feet to walk towards the guards.  
Undyne backed away slowly, lowering her head to stare at the floor. "Be careful, Sans. Please, I can't lose you too." She said softly.

Sans nodded, allowing the guard to unlatch his metal collar and shackles from his wrists and ankles. Then he was shoved forward out of the cell and into the warm morning sunlight. Sans breathed in the fresh air with relief, feeling the sun on his bones, and the light breeze tickling his cheek. But the relief was temporary, he was yanked from his bliss, as he was shoved forward, and forced to walk towards a gathering of humans.

Sans was pulled to a halt in front of a familiar portly figure, "Welcome monster." Mr Elmusen said in a fake warm tone. Sans glared in response, his eye sockets narrowing. Elmusen ignored the look, continuing to speak, "tell me beast, have you heard of the monster hunts?" He asked.

"no, prey tell." Sans said with a small smile.

Elmusen seemed not to understand the pun, and continued talking, "You see, I will release you, you will get the opportunity to hide anywhere in this forest. Then these lovely individuals will hunt you." He said motioning to the group of humans behind him. "And they will kill you." He finished with a wicked grin.

Sans seemed unfazed by the threat, "and if they don't find me?" He asked, unperturbed.

The smile on Elmusen faded, and he stared at the monster taken aback, before quickly regaining his composure. "If you are not dusted within three hours, your collar will transport you back here." He said flatly. He promptly reached forward, grabbing hold of Sans's control collar, causing the leather to dig uncomfortably into Sans's neck. Elmusen pressed his thumb against a small scanning pad, the collar made a beep, as it accepted the thumbprint. 

Sans suddenly felt a warm tingling travel up his arms and legs, slowly spreading through his entire body. His magic, the familiar warmth returned to him, and he could feel the magic pulsing through his body. "I've returned your magic temporarily, but you still cannot kill humans." Elmusen said quickly. "You have ten minutes; you better start running." 

Then he turned to the group of humans, a broad smile creasing his lips. "Let the hunt begin!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you have enjoyed the story so far.


	3. Chapter 3

Sans shot one last glare at his captors, before rushing headlong into the forest, his bare feet digging into the damp soil for traction. It was a short sprint to the woods edge; in no time, Sans was engulfed by the shade of the tree canopy above him. He slowed his pace, panting slightly after the sprint, his legs were already throbbing from the sudden exertion. He continued walking, tucking his hands into his pant pockets, the clearing behind him disappearing farther into the distance, with each step. The forest itself grew thicker, brambles and pricker bushes began to spring up, pulling at Sans pants as he waded through them. The air became cooler, as less and less light was allowed through the tree leaves above. 

Sans paused for a moment, leaning against a tree, he slowly removed his left hand from its pocket, and held it out in front of him. The skeleton stared at it for a moment, before taking a deep breath. His left eye became engulfed in a flickering blue and yellow flame, as he channeled his magic. The skeleton's left hand became surrounded by a bright blue light of his magic. In front of him, an object began to form, specks of white slammed together, slowly building a large canine-like skull. The skulls' eye sockets suddenly lit up with a dark blue light, and it came alive, chomping its maw, and looking around at its new surroundings.

The light in Sans's eye faded, and the skeleton returned his hand to his pocket. The skull, suddenly noticed Sans presence, and darted towards him, nuzzling into Sans's side, causing the skeleton to lose his balance and topple to the ground. Sans laughed hoarsely, rubbing his hand against the skull's forehead.

"didja miss me, buddy?" Sans asked. The skull purred loudly, continuing to lovingly nuzzle its companion. Sans chuckled "yeah, i missed ya too." He said quietly, before climbing to his feet, and brushing the dirt from his clothes. "mind if i hitch a ride buddy? cardio has never been my strong suit." The skeleton admitted, rubbing the back of his head.

The skull seemed to nod, before hovering closer to the ground for Sans to climb on. The skeleton did so, giving the skull a soft pat on the head once he was comfortably seated. "thanks bud, you know, i've been very bone'ly without you..." Sans said with a cheeky grin. The skull growled quietly in irritation, quivering slightly with annoyance. "Not a fan of that pun? don't worry, i'll stop, i wouldn't want to be skull'ded." Sans laughed, as the skull seemed to roll its eyes, growling louder, before hovering farther into the forest.

Together, they ventured through the woods, Sans running through an endless supply of puns relating to just about anything and everything they passed. For a moment, Sans almost felt happy, with his magic returned, and the seemingly endless woods stretching out in front of him, almost made him feel... free. But the feeling didn't last, suddenly Sans smashed into something, falling from the skull, flat onto his back. 

"ugh! ouch." Sans grumbled, rubbing his neck, "wha- what did we hit?" Sans asked, coming to his feet. Sans began to head towards the skull, who was looking at him in confusion, its head tilting to the side slightly. But Sans was stopped again, as his skull thudded against an invisible barrier, Sans rubbed his forehead, in irritation. "this must be the end of the property…" Sans reasoned, placing his hands against the wall, and tapping it lightly. The skull backtracked, to hover next to Sans, growling quietly at the invisible barrier.. "it's interesting you can cross…" Sans murmured, "i wonder…" He began, but they both froze at the sound of footsteps.

"It's up ahead." A female voice whispered, the footsteps slowly getting closer.

Sans glanced at the skull, which had turned to growl at the approaching voice, its maw opening wide, as it gathered its magic. Sans winced, it was giving off too much light; there was no way he could hide with it around. "sorry pal." Sans muttered, glancing at the skull, it closed its mouth, whining at Sans, it gave him one last worried look, before vanishing. 

Sans crept to his left, as quietly as possible, wincing at the sound of leaves crunching beneath his feet. He stopped when the footsteps became louder, as they rapidly approached. Sans glanced above him, spotting a large, somewhat sturdy branch in the distance. His eyes lit up with blue and yellow, as he channeled his magic, his body began to buzz with magic, until he vanished.

There was nothing for a heart-throbbing moment, as he traveled through complete darkness. A kind of darkness that seemed to close in all around him, making him lose all sense of reality. Sans had been here many times before, but he had never gotten used to the total nothingness of the place.

Then it was over, and he found himself rocking on the tree branch fifty feet above the ground. Sans gripped the bark beneath him for balance, slowly scooting closer to the tree's trunk for stability. His attention was drawn to the forest floor, as two figures emerged from the undergrowth.

"Now, where'd it go?" One asked, he was a young boy, in his teens, with shaggy brown hair. 

"Shush, James! I'm trying to figure that out!" The second hissed, it was the same voice Sans had heard before. It belonged to a girl who looked to be relatively the same age as her companion; her long brown hair had been pulled back into a high ponytail that reached the middle of her back. She kneeled, brushing her fingertips against the forest floor, as she searched for tracks.

James rolled his eyes, readjusting the crossbow hanging from his back, to a more comfortable position. "Sophia… Can we just call it quits? This is really, really boring." He whined, his booted feet kicking at the dirt below him.

"No!" Sophia snapped, standing from her crotch, and brushing the loose dirt from her grey leggings. "I've never gotten to kill a skeleton." She said coldly, scanning the forest around her for clues to the monsters' whereabouts.

"Hey, wait a sec!" James exclaimed, pulling his hands free of his grey hoodie, to approach Sophia. "I thought you were gonna let me kill it!" James said, his voice cracking.

"James! We went over this!" Sophia said in annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest in irritation. "You can torture it if you want, but I get to do the dusting." She reminded, fingering the hunting knife at her side in anticipation.

"I wanna switch." James said, as he pulled his crossbow free from its shoulder harness. "Come on, please… I've never killed one…" He pleaded with wide eyes.

"Phsh, you haven't killed a monster because you don't put any work into it." Sophia scoffed, pulling out her own crossbow.

"Come on! I'll- I'll do your chores for a week." He said, looking at his companion hopefully.

Sans leaned back against the tree silently, listening to the two hunters bicker, just like the children they were. It would have been almost cute to watch their interaction if they hadn't been arguing about who would get to kill him. Sans sighed, listening to their babbling without much interest.

Sophia stayed quiet, staring into James's pleading eyes, "Pleeaasee?" He whined, "You know how dad is! He won't be proud of me unless I kill one! Please, Soph, I need this, I want to be a part of the family." He said sadly, bowing his head slightly.

Sophia finally relented, her features softening, "make it a month… and you've got a deal." She said.

"Deal!" James said quickly, latching onto the opportunity in a heartbeat.

"Alright," Sophia sighed, turning her head, to look directly at the skeleton above her "let's do this." Both hunters loaded their crossbows with practiced ease, aiming them at their prey.

Sans heart lurched, "damnit." He cursed under his breath, leaping from the branch with surprising speed, just as two crossbow bolts slammed into the tree branch. Sans was just able to grab onto another branch, to stop his fall, leaving him hanging forty feet off the ground. He didn't waste a second, swinging to a nearby tree gripping its trunk like a lifeline. The skeleton slid down the tree quickly, landing on the leaf-littered floor. The two hunters had already reloaded, so Sans took off running farther into the forest, to escape their onslaught. The soft thrum of the crossbow strings reached Sans ears, and he dived to the side, narrowly avoiding the projectiles. He scrambled to his feet, continuing to run, not wanting to give the teens another opportunity to fire. Sans crashed into a dense portion of the forest, blocking the hunters from eyesight, although he could still hear their hoots of laughter. Sans's body buzzed with magic, and his body disappeared entirely, leaving behind a pair of baffled hunters.

Sans reappeared instantly, in a different part of the forest, a piece he had passed previously. He scanned the surrounding trees for movement, and upon seeing none, slumped to the ground, his back leaned against a tree. The skeleton's chest rose and fell rapidly as he gasped for air, his breathing slowly returning to normal. Sans slowly clambered to his feet, leaning heavily against the tree behind him for support. His head jerked upwards, at the sound of footsteps nearby, and he could just make out movement in the distance. He dove into a nearby bush, as silently as possible, carefully wriggling on to his stomach, so that its leaves entirely covered him. Then, he locked his eye sockets on the approaching hunters.

A group of three men emerged from the nearby trees; each looked to be in their mid-thirties. They were all equipped with a shotgun, that dangled from a strap slung over their shoulders. As they came closer, Sans could make out the faint odor of smoke, his eyes traveled up the men's faces, scanning their features. 

One had a cigar clenched between his yellow stained teeth, he pulled it from his mouth, exhaling a puff of smoke. "When I find that thing, I'm gonna shoot it right between the eyes." He said, replacing the cigar into his mouth.

"Nah, when I find it, I'll shoot it in the knee caps." Another chimed in, pretending to shoot, with a finger gun. "Then it won't be able to run." He added, dropping his hand back to his side.

"Then what, Alvis?" The third asked, in a disinterested tone, he walked behind them, with his hands firmly tucked into his pockets.

"Well, then I'll pull it's arms off, and if it's not dust, I'll smash its worthless soul." He replied, "I love to crush them; I think it's the look in their eyes when they know their dust." He said eagerly.

The first two laughed, continuing on the path, oblivious of the skeleton mere feet away from them. But the third man paused for a moment, in front of Sans hiding spot. The skeleton held his breath, not daing to move, with the hunter's boots mere inches away from him. The hunter pulled a hand free from his pocket, dropping several wrapped candies. The man continued forward, without a word, following behind his companions.

Sans breathed a sigh of relief as the hunter's voices faded away, slowly he ventured out of the bush, staring at the candies. He hesitantly picked them up, immediately recognizing the candy as a special monster candy, one that had incredible healing properties, especially for monsters. He stared at it for a long moment, before channeling his magic into his hand, to check the candy. The candies were surrounded by a bright blue, with his magic Sans had the ability to“check” items. He was able to see an items properties, and even pinpoint whether or not they had been tampered with in any way. The glowing dissipated, as Sans realized the candy was normal, he pocketed them for later.

The hunt had been harder than the skeleton would have ever suspected; the teens had almost caught him before. And he wasn't sure how long he would be able to last; blundering aimlessly through the woods. He shrugged, he would survive; there was no way he was going to let some rich humans kill him. With that thought in mind, Sans began heading in the opposite direction of the hunters, following a thin dirt path.

His foot suddenly made contact with some kind of net, and before he knew what had happened, he had been hoisted fifteen feet off the ground. Sans struggled against the net trapping him for a moment before he noticed a figure emerging from the undergrowth.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A rough voice croaked, it belonged to the figure below, who was wearing a long camo cloak, that obscured the bulk of his features. He pushed the cowl from his head to reveal a yellow-stained smile, dotted with shiny gold teeth. His face was wrinkled from age and seemed to droop slightly on his left side. His features were heavily scarred, with thin white lines running across his entire face. The man only seemed to have one working eye, which was laser-focused on Sans; the other was a milky white color, with the bone around it completely disfigured.

"No one ever expected Old man Galtsen to catch the monster!" The man continued, flashing a smile. His rifle moved upwards, to train on the trapped skeleton above him. "An now, yer going ta die." He said, closing his white eye to aim.

"no chance you'll net me go?" Sans asked cheekily, while his nonexistent heart seemed to pound in his chest.

To the skeleton's surprise, the hunter's eyes widened, and he began to laugh, lowering his gun to lean against its stock. He continued laughing, holding his side with one arm, tears starting to form in his functional eye. 

Sans didn't waste the opportunity; he quickly conjured a bone, cutting the net in one swift slice. He fell forward, landing awkwardly on his outstretched arm, "snap" Sans gritted his teeth, as the delicate bones in his wrist shattered. The skeleton groaned, rolling to his side, before scrambling to his feet. 

The hunter finally noticed his rapidly escaping prey, readjusted his shotgun, aiming it at the fleeing skeleton, the hunter cocked the firearm with an audible click, before wrapping his finger around the trigger. He wasn't going to miss, he'd grown up shooting, and hunting, at first for survival, and now for sport. But then he paused, lowering the gun slightly, to watch the monster disappear into the forest. "I'm gettin too old fer this." He muttered, before lifting the weapon onto his shoulder. 

Sans pelted through the forest, cradling his left wrist, which flopped limply in his grasp. This wasn't good, without the use of his arm, he wouldn't be able to use magic in the same capacity. Sans came to a stop, remembering the candy in his pocket. He pulled a piece out with his right hand, quickly unwrapping it, before popping it into his mouth. Sans leaned against a tree, closing his eyes in relief as his bones began to repair themselves. 

It was a mistake; he heard the thrum of two crossbows in perfect sync; he didn't have time to react. The two crossbow bolts slammed into the tree on either side of him, pinning him to it by his shirt. San struggled, but found he was sufficiently pinned to the wood behind him; he couldn't even teleport until he was free. Sans squinted, as two familiar figures approached him, the same two teenagers from before. 

"Ha, caught ya!" Sophia announced triumphantly, "Nice shot, bro." She added, giving James a high five. The brown-haired boy shot her a shy smile.

Sans looked away from the teens, gripping the bolt above his left shoulder, in an attempt to pull it free. Sans froze at Sophia's cold voice.

"I'm going to stop you right there, buddy." She said, "you move again, and my brother here puts a bolt in your pretty little head." she said in a deadly serious tone.

Sans slowly removed his hands from the bolt, letting them rest at his side, his left hand still throbbing. Monster Candy was unbelievably potent healing magic. But for skeletons, it took a long time to absorb it fully; his wrist wouldn't completely heal for at least another several minutes, if not longer. Sans gritted his teeth, and glared at the teens, with his wrist broken, he wouldn't be able to conjure his attacks, leaving him completely vulnerable.

"That's a good boy." Sophia said in a singsong voice. "Now then, I have a few questions for you." she said, taking a few steps closer to the skeleton.

"Soph, let's just kill it, I'm not sure how much longer we have." James said anxiously.

"Not until I get answers." She growled at her brother. James backed up a step, shivering slightly. Sophia ignored him, refocusing on the skeleton. "So monster, how exactly did you escape before?" Sans stayed silent, his dark eye sockets, staring at Sophia without emotion.

"Are you sure it can even talk?" James asked hurriedly, "It doesn't look very smart to me." He added.

"Yes, I'm sure! We heard it earlier, you idiot!" Sophia snapped. She pulled her hunting knife free from her waist, approaching the skeleton. "You better start talking." She told the monster her eyes gleaming. Sans remained silent, staring at the human with utter hate. "Well, if you won't speak, I guess screaming will have to do." she said, placing her knife against Sans's throat.

Before he knew what was happening, Sophia kicked his leg; Sans felt his leg buckled beneath him, as his right femur snapped in half. Sans screamed, as the pain flooded his body, he couldn't see, he couldn't hear, all he could feel was the excruciating pain emanating from his damaged limb. He could hear someone screaming, but all he could see was darkness. But the pain began to decrease slowly, Sans opened his eyes, quickly realizing the screaming had been him, Sans gasped for air, finding himself face to face with his torturer, she had removed the knife from his throat, and now had a hand fastened around his shirt collar. She looked down for a moment, her eyes widening slightly.

"James come look at this," She said, motioning to the skeleton's leg, which had slowly begun to mend itself, as the candies healing magic was diverted to the new injury.

"It's healing itself…" James questioned, when he got a closer look. "Does that mean we can't kill it?" He asked, looking quizzically at the skeleton.

"Don't be an idiot; no monster could survive a crushed soul." Emily replied, watching the bone of Sans leg slowly knit itself back together, with rapt fascination. "But, this will definitely make torture interesting…" She pondered.

"Soph, come on, let me kill it… We are running out of time." James whined, pacing back and forth behind his sister.

"How did you get away?" Sophia pressed, shoving Sans roughly against the tree. A small grunt escaped the skeleton, as pain shot through his upper leg. "Your tracks, they ju- just vanished! How?" Sans didn't reply. "I'll break your other leg." Sophia threatened.

But before she got the opportunity, James grabbed her shoulder, yanking her backward away from the monster. Before Sans knew what was happening, James's hand was thrust under his ribcage fastening around his soul.

Sans thrashed against him to no avail, and in under a second, James had removed the inverted heart from Sans's chest. Sans went limp as he lost all control and feeling in his body. James took a step back, staring at the monster's soul in fascination.

Sophia scrambled to her feet, glaring at her brother, "What the hell wa-" She stopped, as her eyes locked on the soul. "Damn, what happened to its soul?" She asked, walking to her brother's side.

"It looks… damaged… like really damaged." James said, staring at the soul. The inverted heart was a pale blue color with dark blue scars running across virtually every portion of it. Several parts around the edges had even begun to chip, leaving the soul misshapen.

"It looks like it's been shattered before…" Sophia said quietly, running her finger down a large scar in the souls center. "But how could that be possible?" she wondered, looking at the skeleton, who was slumped against the tree, with the crossbow bolts being the only thing holding him upright.

"Alright, I'm going to do it." James insisted backing away from his sister, his hold slowly tightening around the skeleton's soul.

Sans tried to fight, to do anything, but with his entire being torn from his body, he couldn't even wiggle a finger. His body flooded with pain, as the pressure on his soul increased, the world around him slowly fading away, as all the life was crushed from him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you have enjoyed the chapters so far, before we continue on with the present story, we need to go back to where it all began. In other words, It's Flashback Time! Thanks for reading, and stay safe!

Two years Prior, in Ebott city.

The wind howled outside, slamming into the old farmhouse, making the structure groan in protest. The night had only just begun, with a small sliver of the moon soaring high into the sky, to cast an uncertain glow on the landscape below. It was nothing special, a vast expanse of cash crops, that seemed to stretch out endlessly in all directions. Corn sprouting upwards, in neat even rows, each stalk, bent under the wind's onslaught, threatening to snap under the pressure. 

Sans stared at the wooden ceiling above his head, deep in thought, it was less than a month since monsters had emerged on the surface, to be greeted with fear and hatred. Sans didn't blame the humans; he held just as much if not more hate for them. It was the kind of hate that had been born from a small child. One that had tortured monster kind endlessly, a child had found joy and amusement in watching his race suffer. Sans couldn't remember how many times he had watched every monster disintegrate into dust, watched their fear, their pain.

But every monster in the underground seemed to hold the child, Frisk, in the highest esteem. The child had, after all, freed monster kind, sparing the life of every monster in the underground, and destroying the barrier keeping every monster trapped beneath a mountain. But the other monsters couldn't remember what Sans could; they couldn't remember the way Frisk would torture them, eventually turning them to dust. They couldn't remember how the underground would fill with the smell of death, how you couldn't breathe without inhaling the remains of your own kind. They didn't remember what it was like to lose everything and everyone important to them.

Sans hated the human, but he was always powerless to stop them, they had become too powerful, with their ability to reset. He had tried everything, killing them more times than he cared to remember. But each time they died, time would rewind, and they would come back stronger, resetting over and over, until they achieved their desired result.

Despite this, Sans pretended, pretended that the kid had changed, that this was the last reset, that they would finally be free. Permanently. But deep down, Sans knew it wouldn't be; Frisk would never change; instead, Sans would be stuck in an endless loop of misery, with no hope of escape.

Sans sighed, rolling over to stare at the house's floorboards, running a bony finger across the wood. He traced circles, his fingers catching on the splintered wood. This had been the longest the child had gone without a reset, and this worried the skeleton. He knew nothing good would come from such a long time without one. But another part of him held a small piece of hope, a hope that maybe this was the last and final reset.

A small thump from the next room alerted Sans to someone's presence, he quickly sat up, listening intently. Another thump, Sans's body buzzed with magic, and within an instant, Sans had vanished from the room, reappearing in the hallway outside. The glow of the skeleton's magic faded, and Sans focused his attention at the door in front of him. The door was propped open slightly, just so that Sans could just make out the shadows of the intruders within.

Sans silently crept to the door, pressing his back against the wall and peering into the room. It was dark, but Sans had no difficulty seeing, his eyes were accustomed to low light levels. The room had a race car bed against the far wall, its once vibrant red color, had faded, the paint chipping off so that only specs of the original color remained. Sans had found that bed over ten years ago in a garbage dump, where human trash would find its way into Mount Ebott. His younger brother Papyrus had been enthralled by it; Sans remembered how the skeleton's eyes had widened in excitement. Even now, Papyrus refused to replace it; the old rickety frame held sentimental value to him.

Sans continued to scan the room, noticing his brothers usually meticulously laid out action figures were now scattered across the ground, many in pieces. Sans eye sockets froze on the small human in the room, who was leaned against a wall, pulling apart a figurine with a bored expression.

"Sans… Nice of you to join us, you sure took your time." The human said without looking up, their focus of the iron man action figure in their hands.

Sans sighed before stepping fully into the room, scanning the remainder of its contents. His breath hitched at the sight of his brother, who was being forcefully restrained by two men. Each had grabbed one of the skeleton's arms, pressing against his shoulder blades, so that Papyrus's face was pressed against the hardwood. Sans eyes glanced over a leather collar around his neck and the gag around his brother's head.

"what the hell do you think you're doing, frisk!" Sans growled; his left eye burst into a dark blue flame that flared at every breath he took.

The human pulled the last remaining limb off of the iron man doll, before tossing it to the side. They sighed, glancing at Sans unperturbed, "Just having a little fun." they giggled, a wicked smile creasing their lips. "Aren't you having fun, Pappy?" They asked, with a small nod. The man on Papyrus' left, made a quick twist, and Papyrus' shoulder dislocated with a loud “pop”. Papyrus writhed against their hold, tears pricking at the edge of his eye sockets, his scream muffled by the cloth secured in his mouth.

Sans magic flared, his rage acting as it's fuel, his hand became engulfed in dark blue. The two humans holding Papyrus, where surrounded by blue magic, and thrown across the room. The men screamed, flailing their limbs in an attempt to free themselves from it, but it was no use, the magic tightened around them, and they crashed through a window. Their screams cut short as they thudded against the cold ground outside.

Sans rushed to his brother's side, a wall of bones crashed through the floor, creating an impenetrable barrier between himself and Frisk. "paps!" Sans cried, removing the gag from around his mouth, and pulling his brother into an embrace. 

"Sansy! Hiding is no fun! Come out and play!" Frick shouted from behind the bone wall in an obnoxious voice.

"SANS! YOU HAVE TO RUN! GET OUT OF HERE! THEY CAN TAKE YOUR MAGIC!" Papyrus said quickly, pushing his brother away, with his uninjured arm.

"i'm not going anywhere without ya. let's get out of here, just hold on," Sans instructed, grabbing his brother's arm tightly. Both skeletons were suddenly surrounded by Sans magic, as he attempted to teleport. The skeleton magic glowed brightly for a split second, before fading away completely.

"what the- i- i cant teleport!" Sans said, staring at his hands in a state of shock.

Frisk giggled from behind him, having sawed a hole through the wall of bone with a kitchen knife. "Oh, Sansy! It would be no fun if you could just leave!" They said in a sickly sweet tone, returning the knife to their pocket, and climbing through the newly created hole.

Sans jumped to his feet, his eyes glowing as a cluster of bones formed behind him. "what did you do to me!?" Sans growled.

"To you?" They asked with a smile. "Nothing, your brother, on the other hand… Well, I figured he needed a new neck accessory." Sans turned to his brother, his eyes narrowing on the leather collar with a glowing red light around Papyrus’s neck. "They are totally in nowadays." Frisk giggled. "It will make you sooo popular, Papyrus… isn't that what you want?" The child asked with a malicious smile.

"shut up," Sans growled, thrusting his left hand forward so that a barrage of bones came raining down on the child. Frisk dodged them easily, without sustaining a single hit, yawning at the display of magic.

"Anyways, that new collar of his, well it blocks the use of magic, in well, monsters… I suppose it could be used on human mages as well…" The child pondered, with a quizzical look. 

"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS HUMAN?" Papyrus asked, climbing to his feet, cradling his injured arm, "I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS." Papyrus said quietly.

"Oh… you did?" Frisk asked innocently, "Well, in that case, I'll stop, that way we can go back to you beating me within an inch of my life, and imprisoning me. Because that's what friends are for… Right Papyrus?" The human asked coldly.

Papyrus's eyes widened. "I- I- HUMAN, I'M SO SORRY, I NEVER SHOULD HAVE HURT YOU." He said sadly, lowering his head in shame.

Frisk began to laugh, the laugh quickly turning hysterical, "Haha, I'm afraid you are a day late, and a dollar short Papyrus." They said cruelly, "I don't want your useless apology, it means nothing to me!" They said.

"shut up frisk, if anyone should apologize, it's you, for all the hell you've put us through." Sans retorted.

"WHAT ARE Y-." Papyrus began, but Frisk interrupted him.

"Do you think I wanted this Sans? This path? That I came into the underground with the lust to kill?" Frisk screamed, "I was just a kid! An eight-year-old kid that was hunted mercilessly by your kind." They said with bitterness that a child should not be capable of. "Every single monster hurt me, killed me, and you, Sans! You stood by and let them. You made jokes and just let them hurt me over and over until I had nothing left for them to hurt!" The child screamed.

"that's no excuse for what you have done, kid." Sans replied coolly, "just because you have been hurt, does not make it ok to hurt others." 

"Don't you dare lecture me! You have no idea what it's like!" The child said, "To die over and over, each time losing a piece of yourself, till you don't even recognize yourself." Frisk cried, tears pricking at the corners of their eyes.

Sans lowered his hand slightly, "i do, kid. you weren't the first one with the reset power." He replied quietly. "but the choices you're making… they are wrong, and you need to stop." The skeleton said slowly, "you don't have to continue down this path, you can make the right choice… it's not too late." Sans said.

"It's my choice…" The child said slowly, "in that case; I choose endless suffering for the monster kind. I hope you enjoy Sansy!" They said, rushing towards the skeleton with immeasurable speed, and pulling a knife from behind their back.

"SANS! WATCH OUT!" Papyrus cried, rushing to his brother's aid, Sans quickly sidestepped Frisk's attack, pushing Papyrus out of the way, in the same motion. Sans's eye reignited with its vibrant blue flame, as his magic flared.

"stay back paps; i'll handle the pipsqueak," Sans instructed, creating a complex arrangement of bones, and sending them to the human. Frisk dodged them with practiced ease, Ducking, and jumping each without breaking a sweat.

"Pipsqueak?" Frisk questioned, "Come on, shorty! Have you looked in the mirror lately?" Frisk teased, tossing their knife in the air before catching it again. Sans only shrugged in response, preparing for the child's next attack.

Then they charged him again, their knife swiping in a dazzling display of speed and precision. Sans dodged each strike, countering with well-placed bones, that the human easily deflected, without losing a beat.

"Come on, Sans! You're getting soft!" Frisk said shrilly, as they charged towards him again, with an amused smile.

Sans teleported to the other side of the room, his hand glowing blue as he summoned a dozen canine skulls, each's maw glowing as they channeled their magic. Sans thrust his hand towards Frisk, and the blaster surrounded the child, Sans hand dropped, and the blasters fired. Thick white beams shot from the skull's mouths, lighting the room with a bright white light.

Frisk ducked, jumped, and dived out of the way, only catching a small scrape on their left arm. "Ouch!" They said in an overly dramatic tone, as the blasters disappeared. "You hurt me, Sans. When's the last time you actually hit me?" They asked, pulling the shred of sleeve from their arm, to inspect the reddened skin below. 

"too long, kid…" The skeleton growled, conjuring several dozen bones, and launching them at Frisk without mercy.

Frisk dodged them again, yawning in disinterest. "Sansy, this is getting boring." They said with a pouting expression.

"sorry, this ain't entertaining enough for you." Sans said sarcastically, dodging another of Frisks swipes. "not enough f-risk for ya?" Sans asked with a grin, firing another blaster towards the child.

Frisk stopped for a moment, a genuine smile crossing their face at the pun, they gave a small chuckle, their eyes shining with amusement. But it faded immediately as Frisk went on the offensive, slashing at the skeleton once again.

"This is getting old, Sans." Frisk said in annoyance, "I'm tired of fighting you." they whined.

"you could always surrender, kid." Sans replied, "then we could all go out for some nice cream." Sans said sarcastically, seeming to roll his eye lights.

Frisk placed a hand on their chin, making a dramatic display of considering his offer, "Nah, I think you'll be the one surrendering." They said brightly, pulling a small remote from their pocket. "You remember how I said that collar blocks magic." They said slowly, tilting their head towards Papyrus.

Sans's eye sockets widened, "no, you wouldn't." He said quietly.

"Well… I wonder what would happen if I were to block all of his magic." Frisk said with a cruel smile. "Don't you skeletons rely on it pretty heavily?" They asked.

"don't you dare!" Sans said, rushing towards the human, and reaching out for the remote in their grasp. 

Frisk sidestepped his advance, turning a small dial on the contraption. "Surrender anytime Sansy; I'm not sure how long your brother can survive." They grinned.

Sans froze, slowly turning to Papyrus, at the sound of wheezing. The younger skeleton had collapsed to the ground, his ribcage heaving up and down as he struggled to breathe. The skeletons, typically bright orange eye lights, became hazy, before vanishing completely, leaving dark empty sockets. Sans rushed to Papyrus's side, pulling his brother into an embrace "paps… please…" He said quietly.

"S-SANS." Papyrus gasped. "I C-CAN'T SEE. EV- EVERYTHING H-URTS." Papyrus wheezed. In Sans's hold, Papyrus's entire body began to lock up, as his magical joints disappeared. Without magic, skeletons could not survive, unlike some monsters that can live without magic, skeletons rely their entire survival on it. Sans could feel his brother's bones turning cold and brittle, as all the magic was drained from his body. Papyrus didn't have long; he was already beginning to dust.

"alright!" Sans said quietly, "i- i surrender." Sans said bitterly, hugging his brother tighter, as tears began to form in his eye sockets. "pl-please just make it stop." He said.

"I knew you'd come around, Sansy!" Frisk said before fastening a collar around Sans's neck. The moment the clasp latched, Sans could feel the magic drain from his body, it's familiar warm buzz fizzling out.

"Ready to have some fun, Sansy?" Frisk's voice echoed.


	5. Chapter 5

This was the end, Sans could feel it, as the world around him faded into darkness, his body turning cold, as the remainder of his life disintegrated. He had died many times, more times than he could remember, and each time, he felt this same feeling of nonexistence that seemed to spring upon him, dragging him into an endless abyss of darkness. He had died so many times; he should have been used to it. Right?

He wasn't, and he didn't think he'd ever get used to the unbearable cold that racked his body, or the all-encompassing darkness that would swallow him whole. There was a brilliant flash of blue light, and Sans vision suddenly swam back into focus. In front of him, where the two teen hunters, both with a look of irritation, plastered to their thin faces. The boy stomped his foot, his mouth opening and closing as he spoke, Sans couldn't make out the words, but by the way, the boy flailed his arms, he was not happy.

Sans felt a sharp tug on his soul; his collar began vibrating and glowing with a bright blue light. The teens vanished into the darkness, as the Sans disappeared from the forest entirely. The skeleton was suddenly out of the woods, collapsing to the ground, in a lush green field. He fell in a heap of shaking bones, rattling loudly, with his every labored breath. He slowly crawled to his knees, his body racked with coughing, his senses slowly returned to normal, and he could just make out a pair of shiny black boots.

A man's voice found its way to Sans ears, "Huh, it's alive." The voice said, sounding oddly distant. The boots shifted slightly, as the wearer crouched down. A hand clasped around Sans jaw bone, lifting his head, so that he was facing Mr. Elmusen. "Only barely, though." He chuckled, scanning the weak monster before him, noting the broken bones with a sick smile.

Sans closed one eye socket, focusing on the human with some difficulty "alive? imma skeleton, i've never been alive…. and i'm bein dead serious." He said with a small smile, his breath still rough and uncoordinated.

Elmusen dropped the skeleton's chin, "Get this thing out of my sight." He said dismissively, focusing his attention on the woods, as several groups of hunters emerged, looking tired and defeated.

The pair of guards had been standing several feet away, silently awaiting an order, now with one to act on; they walked briskly towards Sans. The skeleton watched them cautiously, he attempted to stand, but his unhealed leg gave out on him. He crumpled to the ground with a yelp of pain, as the femurs broken ends rubbed against each other. Neither guard seemed to notice; instead, they each grabbed one of his upper arms, hauling him painfully to his feet. Sans grunted, grinding his teeth together to keep from screaming.

The walk back to his cell was uncomfortable, to say the least, he couldn't keep up with the guard's brisk pace, eventually leading the skeleton being entirely dragged. Sans teeth creaked against each other, as each step they took shot a sharp pain through his leg. To make matters worse, it seemed that the magic he had temporarily had access to during the hunt had utterly vanished. He was left feeling cold and empty inside. 

Eventually, they did reach their destination, and Sans was roughly thrown back into the cell he shared with Undyne; Sans crumpled to the ground panting from pain. A smooth metal collar snapped around his neck, re-securing him to the wall, then the two guards left, slamming the door behind them.

"Sans!" Undyne exclaimed, as her eye swept the battered skeletons form. "You're alive." She sighed in relief. In all reality, she hadn't expected to see the skeleton, she had lost far too many friends to expect otherwise, but now here he was, alive.

"yeah... yeah i am." He grumbled, crawling towards the wall to lean against it. The skeleton closed his eye sockets, leaning back against the stone with a small sigh of relief.

"Sans! What happened out there? How did you get hurt? And wait, your leg… It's healing!" She said, staring wide-eyed at the broken femur, which was still in the process of healing itself.

Sans chuckled, opening his eye sockets, to size up the injury "yer not gonna believe it…" Sans said, glancing around before lowering his voice. "one of the hunters, they gave me these." Sans said, carefully pulling out the two remaining candies from his right pocket, to show the fish monster.

Her eyes widened at the sight. "They're not poisoned, are they?" She asked skeptically, eyeing them with distrust.

"nah, they're clean, i checked." He assured, returning one to his pocket, and tossing the other to Undyne. "here; we might as well share." He said with a crooked smile.

"Bu-" Undyne began, attempting to hand it back, but Sans raised his hand to stop her.

"listen Undies, i can't have the hero of all monster kind dying, jus because she wouldn't take a stupid candy." He replied, carefully cradling his injured wrist.

Undyne scowled at the nickname, shooting him a one-eyed glare, before placing the candy into her boot "Fine" She huffed, "but the same goes for you, no dying." She said.

"yeah, yeah, i'm not plannin on gettin myself killed too soon." He replied coyly.

There was a pause as the two monsters stared at the wall, watching the shadows of clouds outside, flicker across its stone surface. Undyne glanced at the skeleton, he seemed calm, his face emotionless, but Undyne could tell that the skeleton was in pain, by the way, his soul pulsed erratically, and how his bones rattled quietly against one another.   
"But seriously, Sans… Are? Are you alright?" She asked her voice flooding with concern; it had always been her job to look after and protect monsters. But now, she felt useless, left chained to a wall, as she watched her kind suffer.

Sans shot her a glance, breathing out deeply through his nostrils before he spoke. "yeah, i'm fine." He said quietly, focusing his attention on a new rip in his grey t-shirt. "broken bones sure don't feel good." he said slowly. "it just kinda reminds me of what it was like as a kid…" he said absentmindedly, his eye lights hazy, and distant.

"Sans?" Undyne asked cautiously, her eye focused on the skeleton. "What do you mean, Sans?" She pressed.

Sans startled slightly, as if only just realizing what he had said, his eye lights widened somewhat, "nothin, forget i said anything." He said quickly, avoiding eye contact with the other monster.

"Sans you can te-" Undyne began, scooting closer to the skeleton.

Sans jerked away, his breathing quickened, the lights in his eyes completely vanished "no!" He said quickly. "no, no i'm fine…. thanks though." Sans said in a quieter tone, his eye lights reigniting, and his features returning to normal instantly. 

Undyne stared at him for a moment; she had never seen Sans look so scared, it had only been a split second, but it had been there. Then she shrugged slightly, leaning back against the wall. "Alright, punk." She said quietly.

It was several hours before anyone visited their cell, and even then, it was only one guard who slid a tray into their cell, leaving without a word to the two occupants. Sans' leg had almost completely healed, leaving behind a light grey scar. His wrist, on the other hand, had still not fully recovered, but the bone had managed to align itself and was now slowly knitting back together.

"what's that? Sans asked, eyeing the tray's contents in disgust. On it were two sizable grey brick-shaped pieces.

"Dinner." Undyne said in resignation, Sans looked up from the tray, giving her a confused look "They said that it's some kind of special monster food." Undyne explained further, picking up one of the bricks.

Sans followed her lead, picking up the other, surprisingly, it wasn't hard like he had expected, it was more of chewed gum like consistency. Undyne boldly took a bite tearing into it with her fangs. The skeleton slowly brought it to his mouth to take a small bite, he gagged, pulling it away. As a skeleton, Sans had very little sense of taste, he could eat just about anything without much trouble, but this, this was beyond horrible. The taste was putrid, and it stuck to the inside of his mouth, coating it with a thick sludge. Sans tossed it back on the tray and feverishly wiped the residue from his fingers with the floor.

"Yeah… That was my first reaction too." Undyne chuckled, finishing off the last of the brick.

"how do you stomach it? i mean, i can hardly taste a thing… but that! that was horrible." He groaned, glaring at the "food."

Undyne shrugged, using her fingernails to pick out the pieces wedged between her teeth. "It's what I've been eating for the past couple of years… I guess I stopped tasting it after a while," she replied. "But seriously, they only feed us once a week, so you really should eat it." She said, folding her hands behind her head.

Sans glowered down at the tray, before slowly picking up the brick, he took another bite, swallowing it as quickly as possible. He gagged again, clutching his stomach, as sludge began digesting.

Undyne rolled her eyes "Come on! It's not that bad." she said in annoyance, Sans opened his mouth to protest, but the other monster immediately cut him off. "Finish it; you'll need the energy." She said, her tone turning icy cold.

Sans gulped, grudgingly finishing off the rest of the brick, under Undyne's watchful eye. "there, happy?" he shivered, still trying to get over the taste.

Undyne gave him a toothy smile, "Attaboy." She said, giving the skeleton two thumbs up. "Now rest up, buttercup!" She said with a yawn, before moving away from the wall, to curl up on the floor, her breath slowing as she drifted to sleep.

Sans sighed, leaning back against the wall, he glanced at his wrist, which admittedly had healed entirely due to the added energy his "dinner" had given him. This place was a lot like where he had grown up, less clean, that was for sure, but that same feeling of uselessness was there. He distinctly remembered being chained to a wall, as well as being caged. And every time he tried to escape, he had been engulfed by that all to familiar purple magic. "And Where Do You Think You're Going?" a cold, calculating voice would always ask. Sans shivered at the memory, pushing it out of his mind. He closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep, a sleep plagued by nightmares of his childhood.

Sans awoke the next morning to the warm touch of the sun as it filtered through the only window in their cell. He groaned, not wanting to wake up, it had been a difficult night for him, nightmares had intruded in his unconscious mind. As a result, causing him to wake up in a cold sweat more than once throughout the night. Thankfully, Undyne hadn't awoken, she seemed to be an incredibly heavy sleeper. Her loud snores had a way helping the skeleton drift back into an uneasy sleep. 

"Good morning punk." an overly cheerful voice said, Sans finally forced his eyes open, to find a blue fish monster staring at him with a wide grin.

Sans closed his eyes, rolling over onto his other side. "tis too early." he mumbled before falling into a light doze.

"Oh, come on, Sans!" Undyne replied, nudging the skeleton with her foot "Are you going to sleep all day?" She asked with a small frown.

Sans sighed, rolling onto his back to stare at the ceiling above him, "you should try it sometime." He replied, shooting a monster a mischievous grin. The skeleton yawned, before pulling himself up to sit against the wall. 

"There ya go." She said encouragingly, delivering a small punch to the skeleton's upper arm. 

Sans scowled, reaching up to rub the sight of impact "geesh undie, no need to be so rough." He said.

Undyne's eye narrowed at the nickname, Sans quickly rolled to the side, avoiding her grasp by mere inches. "Come here!" She said, reaching out to him, but the collar around her neck prevented her from reaching him.

Sans chuckled "seems you're at the end of your rope." He said, moving a few inches farther away for good measure.

Undyne glowered at him, before releasing the tension around her neck to sit back against the wall. Her posture relaxed, her hands falling into her lap as she stared at the door in front of her. "We're going to get out of this eventually." She murmured almost too low for Sans to hear.

The skeleton watched her for a moment, before replying. "i know undyne." He answered in a quiet voice.

"It's all my fault we are in this mess." She said without turning, her hands clenching into tight fists as she spoke. "I had one job to kill that dirty human, but I failed! I fell for their little kindness act!" She said, slamming a fist into the ground next to her so that the cement floor cracked beneath the force, she seemed not to notice, "How could I have been so stupid, everyone is either dead or enslaved because of me." She said, hot tears sliding down her cheeks, she roughly brushed them away with the back of her hand, leaving red marks across her blue skin.

"it's not your fault," Sans said quietly, "it's mine," he said sadly, his voice quivering.

"Sans! No, it is not your fau-" Undyne began to assure, but Sans cut her off with a raised hand.

"i was the only one who knew what they had done, what they could do." Sans swallowed hard. "but i gave up, i let myself believe that maybe, just maybe they could… change." He finished bitterly. 

"Sans, there's no way you could have possibly known, none of us did… "Undyne replied, her voice quivering slightly.

"i did." Sans replied gravely, he lifted his head slightly, to meet Undyne's confused expression. "listen... you don't understand…" Sans' voice trailed off, and he lowered his head to stare at his hands.

Undyne stayed silent for a moment, watching the skeleton she could easily read the guilt that plagued him, by his slumped shoulders, and strained features. Undyne herself had known another monster who had been riddled with that same level of guilt. The goat monster had always been like a father to her after her own had fallen in the war. Undyne herself had challenged him to duel as a child; she had blamed him. She had been angry and afraid, so she did the only thing she could, she fought. But the fuzzy pushover had refused to fight, no matter how many blue energy spears she had thrown his way. He had just stood there and had taken it with a sad smile. Until Undyne had finally collapsed, her breath heavy, with wet tears running down her cheeks. After that, he had taken her in, taught her, and loved her as a father would have. Undyne quickly found her voice. "Then help me understand," she said evenly.

Sans' head remained lowered, but his hands clenched tighter in his lap. He seemed to be coming to a decision, then his hands suddenly relaxed as he spoke. "this is going to sound crazy…" The skeleton began, "but this isn't the first time the human fell into the underground."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, and stay safe out there!


	6. Chapter 6

The day was late, the sun just dipping below the luscious expanse of hills, painting streaks of orange and pink across the gray sky. The air had cooled, with only a faint whisper of the warmth that had clung to the air during the day. Now it was cool, with a soft breeze rustling against the sloping fields of green grass, making their sleek blades whistle. Two figures could be seen trekking along a worn dirt path that wound through the hilltops, breaking up the endless green with twists of brown. The trail led to a large house that loomed over even the highest hilltop; its windows twinkled against the darkening sky.

One of the figures was unmistakably human, he wore a gray button-up dress shirt, that's sleeve cuffs had been unbuttoned and rolled up past his elbows. His long legs were covered by long black dress pants that whipped around his ankle in the strong night breeze, occasionally revealing the white socks he wore below them. His once shiny black shoes had become scuffed and coated in a thin layer of dust from the journey.

The second figure was unnaturally tall, standing several heads taller than the human walking beside him. His lanky form was covered with a red t-shirt that hung off his shoulders loosely as if lacking a form to fit against. A pair of grey sweat pants was tied tightly around his hips, its drawstring having to be looped around his body twice to stay in place. The most unique accessory on him was a metal collar clasped tightly around his bony neck. He was a monster, after all, a being capable of magic, magic that in the human's eyes could not go unchecked.

The two figures stopped in front of a gray house, with the monster lagging a few steps behind, its head lowered. The human paused, reaching into his pockets, searching for the ever-elusive house key. But just as his fingers brushed against the cool metal of the key, the front door swung open, spilling light onto the front porch. In the doorway stood a small curly red-haired girl, her hand still rested on the doorknob, requiring her to stand on her toes to reach. She dropped the brass handle, her face splitting into a large smile that was missing several teeth. She wore a blue night gown that reached down to her ankles, where she wore bright red socks on her tiny feet. The girl suddenly launched herself forward, leaping into the mans awaiting arms.

"Daddy! Daddy!" She squealed in utter excitement, "I've missed you!" She said, burying her face into his chest and breathing in the familiar scent of his after-shave.

"Aren't you supposed to be in bed, little miss? Her father asked, with a small smile spreading across his lips.

The little girl leaned back away from her father's chest, crossing her arms in annoyance. She gave him a withering stare that did not look intimidating due to her small stature. "I wanted to see you." She whined, her expression turning into an all-out pout.

"Alright," he chuckled, readjusting his hold so that one of his arms was free; with it, he ruffled the red curls on her head. She squealed, squeezing her green eyes shut and swatting his hand away. He laughed again, "Let's go inside," He said, entering the house, with the monster silently following.

The girl's eyes snapped open, and for the first time, her gaze fell on the monster, her eyes widened in amazement. She had never seen anything quite like the monster before her; he was a skeleton, his body wholly composed of pearly white bones that were held together with seemingly invisible ligaments. She gasped, squirming free of her father's hold to get a closer look at the skeleton. She rushed towards him, craning her neck to look up at the tall figure only feet from her.

"Wow!" She gaped, "You're sooo cool!" She shrieked, her eyes brimming with excitement. "I'm Anne! What's your name?" she asked, jumping from foot to foot, hardly containing her unbridled excitement.

The skeleton's gaze slowly shifted from the floor to meet the young girl's bright green eyes. They stared at one another, dark empty sockets meeting vibrant green. The skeleton's face creased into a smile, white pinpricks of light illuminating in his eye sockets.

"I SMALL HUMAN, AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS." The skeleton announced in a loud booming voice, his posture ramrod straight, with one hand covering the part of his chest where a heart would have been. Annie's smile somehow widened even more.

"Wow!" She exclaimed, her eyes sparkling in amazement. "Hey! Do you wanna play?" She asked suddenly, clasping her hands together and giving the monster a pleading look.

"WHY, OF COURSE, HUMAN." The skeleton replied eagerly without a moment's hesitation.

The girl giggled, grabbing the skeleton's bony wrist and dragging the skeleton towards her room. "Then let's go! Come on, Papyrus!". The skeleton and child quickly disappeared around a corner, their giggles carrying from the hallway.

The girl's father stared after them for a moment before turning to a middle-aged woman standing silently nearby. "Helen," He said quietly.

"Sir?" The woman asked, her brown eyes immediately meeting with his.

"How is Annabelle?" He asked slowly, turning back to the hallway the girl had run down.

"As well as can be expected, sir," Helen replied carefully, her hands slowly smoothing a crease on her apron. "She has gone through a trauma." The servant reminded him. "It will take time for her to recover fully." 

"Yes, yes, I know…" He replied absentmindedly, "I won't ever allow that to happen again." He said just above a whisper. "I almost lost her." He said without realizing he had spoken.

"But you didn't, sir." The servant said smoothly, taking her attention off her apron. "She is safe," Helen said, taking a small step towards the man to place her hand lightly on his shoulder.

"I know." He replied suddenly, the grief in his faces becoming replaced with determination. "I will make sure of it," he said with a grim smile.

Without another word, he continued down the hall, Helen's hand falling from his shoulder. His footsteps echoed down the hallway as he walked, clumps of dirt crumbling from his shoes; she allowed him to go, moving towards a closet nearby to retrieve a broom. 

He turned the corner, slowing his pace, before stopping entirely outside his daughter's room. His back leaning against the wall and placing a hand over his face as he slowed his breathing. His breath hitched as he was drawn into a memory of three nights before.   
\----  
The sound of a scream pierced the silent house; he sat bolt upright at the sound, blinking rapidly in the darkness. He glanced around his darkened room in confusion, a second scream broke the uneasy silence, becoming suddenly cut off. He leaped out of bed, wrenching the door to his room open, pounding down the hallway, his bare feet slapping against the hardwood noisily. 

He burst through his daughter's room with reckless speed, skidding to a stop, eyes wide as he took in the scene. Lighting streaked through the ski illuminating the room, where three masked men stood, each turning towards him. One man kneeled on the ground, one arm pinning Anne to him, the other clamped over her mouth to prevent any additional noise. Anne struggled against him uselessly, her eyes wide with terror locking on her father with desperation. 

"Anne." He breathed, his voice becoming obscured by the thunder outside. "Let her go!" He roared, taking a quick step forward. The masked man suddenly pulled a gun-free of his belt, maneuvering his arms so that it was around the girl's neck. He quickly moved the gun so that it was aimed at the girl's head. 

"D-addy." Anne choked as the pressure around her neck increased, stifling her breathing. Her chest heaved desperately, tears glistening across her pale cheeks. A soft click echoed through the room as the intruder cocked his pistol, shoving the muzzle of his gun into the girl's head. Thunder crashed through the sky, causing both father an daughter to flinch.

"What do you want? Money? You can have it." Her father said quietly, raising his hands in a submissive gesture. "Just please let her go." He said cautiously, his eyes locked on the gun. 

"What do we want, Mr. Holt?" A voice asked; the owner of it stepped forward, moving towards the restrained child. Mr. Holt's gaze flickered to him as he spoke, "It's simple, really. Revenge." He finished, grasping a chunk of the girl's hair to lift her head. Tears streamed down her face, her lower lip quivering in fear. "And there will be blood," he said coldly, releasing her hair. The men in the room retreated to the window, leaping outside and disappearing into the darkness outside. 

Mr. Holt paid them no mind as he rushed to his daughter, pulling her shaky form into his warm arms. He firmly held her against him, wrapping his arms around her to protect her the only way he could. The room's silence was broken by the child's sobs, her face falling into her father's shoulder as she soaked his nightshirt. Her sobs, slowly becoming drowned out by the sound of rain crashing against the roof tops.  
\----  
"WOWIE, YOU HAVE SO MANY!" a loud voice said excitedly; Mr. Holt jerked back the present at the sound, slowly moving to peer in through his daughter's partway open door. Inside, both Anne and the skeleton sat crossed-legged on the floor as they riffled through a bin filled to the brim with action figures.

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!" The girl with the same exuberant excitement as the other. "Who do you want to be?" She asked eagerly, leaning over the bin to peer at the numerous characters to choose from. 

Papyrus dug through the bin, pulling a few out for closer inspection, "I'LL BE THIS ONE." He announced, showing off a green skeleton in armor.

"So you want to be the villain?" Anne asked, rifling through the bin before finding a Batman action figure.

"NO, NO HUMAN, THIS IS A GOOD GUY," Papyrus assured, looking the small piece of plastic up and down before giving a slight nod.

"But that's a bad guy." Anne said patiently, "He fights the justice league." She tried to explain, motioning to her action figure.

"I BELIEVE HE CAN CHANGE." Papyrus explained, "I KNOW HE CAN BE A GOOD PERSON IF HE TRIES." He finished with a flourish.

Anne considered him for a moment, glancing at the tub of action figures, before grabbing its handles and flipping it over to dump its contents onto the floor.

"HUMAN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" the skeleton asked aghast, staring at the mess she had just made.

"I know what we are going to play now." The girl said brightly, beginning to spread out the toys across the white carpeting. "We can turn all of the bad guys good!" She explained excitedly, giving the monster a wide grin.

Papyrus' eyes seemed to light up, "THAT'S A GREAT IDEA.," he exclaimed excitedly; Anne nodded along in agreement.

Mr. Holt sighed, pushing open the door to enter the room; the two occupants looked up at him from their seated positions. "Anne, Honey, I need to talk with the monster for a moment." He said, motioning for the skeleton to follow him.

"Papyrus? You need to talk to Papyrus?" she asked, tilting her head to the side with a small frown.

Yes, dear. It will only be a moment." He assured her, the skeleton had already risen to his feet, so he firmly gripped the upper bone of his arm, pulling him into the hallway. Mr. Holt moved swiftly, pulling the skeleton down a hallway, before yanking him into a darkened room, shutting the door behind him, so that the room was enveloped in darkness. He released the skeleton's arm, turning a small dial beside the door so that a dim light flooded the space. 

They found themselves in a large room, with a wooden desk situated in front of a large window overseeing the darkened yard. Various stacks of papers lay scattered across the desk's surface; pencils and pens strewn across them. Several desk drawers hung open, filled with documents and folders so that they became impossible to close. Pens and crumpled up pieces of paper laid across the carpeting, adding to the room's general chaos. To onside, a chair laid on its side, as if it had been thrown around at some point. 

The skeletons didn't have long to take in the room before the man spoke, "Do you know why I bought you?" He asked abruptly; the skeleton slowly turned to face him, his eye lights vanishing and leaving dark empty sockets. Slowly the monster's head moved side to side in reply. "As a bodyguard." The man continued, taking an aggressive step towards the monster. The skeleton flinched at the action but did not attempt to move away. "For my daughter. There are people out there that want to hurt her." He explained, taking another step closer, "I need you to protect her." Another step: "But I can't trust you not to hurt her." He growled, gripping the skeleton's collar bone; he pulled him forward before slamming him into the wall.

"I WOULD NEVER HURT THE SMALL HUMAN." The skeleton replied quietly, his voice firm.

For a split second, Mr. Holt seemed taken aback by the monster's sincerity, but his features immediately shifted to something colder. "I can not trust you." He said firmly, almost angrily. He released his grip on the monster's collarbone, his eyes suddenly beginning to glow a bright yellow. The glow began to wrap around his right hand, illuminating the room in a bright yellow light.

"YOUR A MAGE!" The skeleton gasped, his eye sockets seeming to widen at the realization. "HOW C-" He began, but his voice died in his throat as the yellow magic wrapped itself around him. His body stiffened as the magic seemed to bind him in place, making it impossible to move. His feet slowly left the ground as he was lifted slightly, unable to move an inch, his eye sockets wide with fear. The mage approached him, lifting the skeleton's shirt upwards to reveal his pearly white rib cage. Beneath it, a bright orange inverted heart floated. The mage moved his right hand forward, hovering it inches away from the skeleton's sternum, before the yellow glow pulsed, surrounding the monster's soul.

"PL- PLEASE," the skeleton gasped weakly as he felt an intense pressure in his chest, seeming to pull the breath from him.

The mage ignored his pleas, yanking his hand backward so that the soul came forward out of his chest, hovering between them. The mage released his shirt, slowly, taking the soul into his hands almost gently. Papyrus went limp, the world around him seeming dimmer and far away; he blinked slowly, the only thing keeping him up being the mage's magic around him. His soul was suddenly engulfed in a bright yellow flame; the skeleton felt oddly detached from it as he watched it begin to crack, small slivers of it breaking apart and disintegrating into the yellow flame. The mage's eyes seemed to glow brighter, and a faint green color seemed to swirl around into the yellow flame; it slowly grew brighter before it was forced into the skeleton's fractured soul. The pain was sudden, shooting through every bone in his body; he felt as though he was being torn apart. The skeleton tried to scream, but he couldn't move, he couldn't speak, he was stuck in a body that didn't feel like his own.

The mage's yellow magic slowly began to fade, leaving a strange green glow surrounding the monster's soul; the green seemed to fill the cracks, fusing it back together. The monster's soul slowly floated back into the skeleton's chest, the magic bindings pinning the monster vanished, and the skeleton collapsed to the floor, trembling. His bones rattled noisily as he crawled to a kneeling position panting.

"It's done." The mage said, "You can feel it, can't you?" He asked, approaching the skeleton, "The unbreakable bond you now have with my daughter." He explained, grabbing the monster by his collar and forcing him to his feet. "Your life is now bound to hers." He said, roughly shoving the skeleton against the wall so that his spine hit painfully against it. "But if you ever hurt her." He spat, bringing his face closer to the monsters, "I will give a fate worse than death, a torture that will have you begging me to end your worthless existence." He growled, "This is only a fraction of my power." He added, pressing his thumb against a button on the collar eliciting a small beep. He released his hold on the monster backing up a step.

Papyrus stumbled slightly, quickly regaining his footing, a warm buzz suddenly flooding his entire body. He almost smiled at the familiarity of it; his eye lights flared orange as he felt the power of his magic returning to him.


End file.
